


Pound of Flesh

by Tashilover



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe- Slavery, Dubious Consent, Genderbending, Girl!Link, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Ratings to change, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-11-19 03:44:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11304990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: Sidon only bought the girl to save her from a worse fate.Girl!Link, Slavery!AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Implied/reference rape, non-consensual situations

There was a time when Sidon admired the Hylians.

Despite having been born without claws or thick skin or horns, they made their mark upon the lands of Hyrule. As a child, Sidon was excited when a Hylian came to Zora's Domain, always wanting to know who the Hylian was and what they were selling. He always wanted to touch their hair, their braids, their curls, their fingers. He was too young to understand his study of them was a bit rude, but the humans politely put up with it, especially if it meant they would sell more of their wares.

That was before the war.

Nowadays Sidon kept his fascination of humans to the minimum. For his people, he needed to show he hated them as much as they did, that he was not willing to show the humans mercy when they clearly did not deserve it. As future king of the Zoras, he could not side with any of the independent groups who rallied for humans rights.

Especially not after what the Hylians did to Mipha.

Sidon shook his head, pushing Mipha's memory away. He could not get himself worked up now, not when he was about to buy a new slave. He could scare the human into wetting themselves, and nobody wanted that.

"Find one you like?" The salesman Zora asked patiently. "Every human here is of the highest quality."

That Sidon had no doubt. No way would this Zora sell a cheap slave to Sidon, not when a pretty profit could be made. Every Hylian presented was beautiful, soft and delicate, their sole purpose not to actually serve, but to be aesthetically pleasing, like a bouquet of flowers.

(At least that's what Sidon wanted to believe they were bought for. It was no secret many of them ended up as pleasure slaves.)

Sidon slowly went down the line, biting the inside of his cheek as he considered each human. He had no personal preference, he'd rather just buy one at random and get this over with, but the court elders would never let him hear the end of it if he bought a lazy, ugly, cheap human.

Ugh, this was exhausting. There were at least fifty humans here. Was Sidon really going to go through them all?

He jumped when a loud crash erupted from the back room. He turned to look, and suddenly the back doors burst opened. Four Zoras and one Hylian girl fell through, all yelling and cursing. The girl, dressed in a blue tunic, was twisting and fighting like mad, giving the four Zoras a run for their money. She bit at them, kicked them, punched them, spat at them, all the while snarling like a rabid dog. Though the Zoras were bigger in size and stature, they were having a hell of a time trying to restrain her, unable to properly get the ropes around the girl's arms and legs.

"What are you doing?" Yelled the salesman to the struggling Zoras. "Get her out of here! I've got an important customer!"

He turned to Sidon. "Your highness, please, pay no attention to that Hylian. She's a troublemaker. She'll be dealt with soon."

Good lord, that girl was strong. Sidon watched in fascination as two Zoras managed to get her on the ground, her face pressed harshly to the floor while the other two worked to get her limbs bound. The girl squirmed and twisted, growling out her displeasure. When an arm fin got too close to her face, she jerked and lunged, snapping her teeth down.

The Zora screamed. His hold on her loosened and resulting feud continued.

As entertained as this was, Sidon wasn't going to stand by and watch his citizens get kicked and bit. He strode forward, stepped in between the Zoras, and with one large hand, placed it on the girl's chest and shoved downward. She fell flat on her back, a startled cry ripped out of her. As strong as this girl was, she was no match for Sidon.

Now unable to get leverage, it was easy for the other Zoras to wrangle her arms and legs together to tie them. She continued to struggle.

Sidon studied her. She had pretty blue eyes, soft blonde hair, and when she tried to raise her head to snap at Sidon's fin, he gently pushed her head down. Despite this, she still fought, refusing to give up.

Over his shoulder, Sidon addressed the Zora salesman. "Is she mad?"

Surprised, the salesman stuttered out, "Uh... no, actually. She's just... _wild_."

"She's feral?"

"I thought at first. According to my sources, they found her living in the fields of Hyrule. Witnesses says she was seen sneaking around the Guardians."

" _Guardians_? Really?"

"Yes. She's mute, but she can understand standard speech just fine, which means she can follow orders just fine. However, as you can see, she's not an easy slave to keep."

Sidon's gaze trailed down to the girl's exposed skin. Now he got a better look, the girl was riddled with scars. They were everywhere, criss-crossing all over her body. Goddess, how many fights has this girl been in? She had more scars than Sidon did.

By now the Zoras were done tying her. Sidon released his hold and stepped away, allowing them to pull the girl up by her elbows. She didn't fight them. She was too exhausted to try.

"Where is she going?" Sidon asked.

"Don't worry about her, your highness. Please, let us-"

" _Where_ are they _taking_ her?" Sidon asked, this time with more authority in his voice.

The Zora gulped, and said, "Well... she can't be kept as a standard house slave. She is quite beautiful though... so we'll sell her as a pleasure slave. But she needs to be broken in first."

That meant beating her until she submitted.

"I want to speak with her. Bring her back."

"But she can't speak-"

"You told me she can understand standard speech. I'll talk, she'll listen. Bring her back."

They did. The girl looked like a angry cat, her long blonde hair draped over her eyes, her lip curled into a snarl. She stared at Sidon menacingly, and Sidon was sure if she could speak, she would be cursing at him.

"I'm going to give you an choice," Sidon said to the girl. "You can come with me, and be a standard slave in my court-"

The salesman gaped.

"-or you can go with these Zoras and be trained to be a pleasure slave."

Some choice. Either go with the prince, or be raped for the rest of her life.

The girl reeled in disgust, her mouth dropping opened.

Sidon wanted to assure her he was trying to save her, that he didn't care if she ran or not after this. Sidon still had an audience, people who would no doubt question his actions and repeat what they saw to others. He needed to make this look like he was indifferent.

The girl closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth against the injustice of it all.

Slowly, she raised her bound wrists to Sidon.

"Alright. I'll buy her," Sidon said to the salesman.

"I... but, your highness! While I don't want to question your choice... there are plenty of very lovely Hylians here to choose from. Hylians who won't try to slit your throat while you're asleep. Why this girl?"

Because under the bravado, under the anger and the snarling, this girl was scared out of her mind. Sidon could see it, he could taste her fear like cotton in his mouth. Because Mipha would have never wanted this, no matter what those old coots back home believed. Because out of every human here, the one most likely to try to fight for their freedom was her.

"Because," Sidon said, giving a toothy grin. " _I_ want to be the one to _break_ her."


	2. Chapter 2

For an untrained, unrefined, overly stubborn slave, Sidon was charged full price for the Hylian girl: a whopping four thousand rupees. He was a little irked by this, and yet bewildered that this salesman had the nerve to scam a royal. It wasn't worth the argument and Sidon paid for the girl without complaint.

They brought the girl out in chains, her wrists and neck bound to each other. Her feet were free. If she ran, the shackle around her neck would dislocate a disc. Walking was just as uncomfortable, and as the girl came out into full view, she had to waddle to accommodate the weight. She gritted her teeth against the strain.

"I know you're in pain," Sidon said to her. "Please bear it for a little while longer. Once we're outside the limits of the marketplace, I'll take off the shackle."

The girl looked up at him with hatred.

Sidon planned to buy more items today. He could as easily sent out one of his other slaves to pick up the items, but Sidon liked to do things on his own. By the time he was only ten years old, Sidon was already sick and tired of servants waiting on him hand and foot. He couldn't even take a shit without someone wanting to wipe his ass. Buying his own food and necessities was one task he wished to do for himself, thank you very much.

But with the girl in so much pain, Sidon didn't want to spend anymore time in the market than he had to. Even in chains, it would be expected for the girl to carry his purchased items.

It took an agonizing fifteen minutes to finally leave the bustle of the market place.

"Alright," said Sidon, turning back to the girl. He grimaced at her face. Through the strain she was sweating profusely, her skin almost as red as Sidon's. A vein in her forehead was sticking out. "Here... give me a second..."

He unlocked the shackle and stepped back, letting it fall. He didn't know how heavy the shackle was until it crashed to the ground with a loud thump, kicking up dirt.

The girl nearly stumbled, surprised by the sudden weight loss. She groaned in relief.

"What's your name?" Sidon asked.

The girl didn't answer. She was too busy rubbing at her sore neck. She moved her head from one side to the next. Her neck audibly cracked. Sidon winced.

The kink was gone from the girl's neck and she stood up straighter, sighing. She smiled gently.

She suddenly took off running in the other direction.

Sidon gave out a small cry of protest, his arm stretched out to call her back. He stopped, huffing. His arm dropped. Well, this was what he wanted, right? For her to escape? Right. He might as well go home now before-

The girl suddenly came running back. Hot on her heels were two Zoras on horseback, wielding spears and chains. They chased the girl, hooting and hollering like animals, threatening violence once they caught up to her.

They spotted Sidon and with a squeal, pulled the reigns hard, halting their horses gait. "Your highness! I did not expect to see you today!"

The girl ran back to Sidon, hiding behind him.

"Is that slave girl yours?" The Zora asked, pointing the spear at her.

"She is," Sidon said, his voice turning cold. "Why are you pointing a spear at my property, citizen?"

The Zora startled. "I- uh... Your highness, apologies, I didn't mean-"

"You're still holding the spear."

He quickly dropped his arm. "Your highness... I... was she escaping?"

"My new slave has been in chains all day. I was allowing her to stretch her muscles. She knows if she ran, _I would catch her._ "

From behind, the girl shuddered.

"I see..." The Zora guard said. "My apologies, you highness. I was not aware-"

Sidon turned his back to him. "It's fine. Go on your way."

He heard them leave. He kept walking, sensing the Hylian girl keeping up with him. What bad luck. The moment of escape, you're immediately caught by patroling guardsmen. Sidon made a mental note to report those two. They're suppose to reign in loose slaves, not hunt them down like they were prey. What would they have done to the girl if they caught up with her?

After a minute of walking in silence, his peripheral caught sight of something. "What?"

He turned to the girl. She was looking down, her lips thinned with frustration. With a huff, she raised one hand and spelled something out.

L-I-N-K.

That was it.

"Link?" Sidon said after a moment. "Is that... your name?"

She nodded.

"That's a wonderful name," Sidon said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Implied suicide (but not really) and implied lashings (but not really)

The walk back into Zora's Domain was a quiet one. After Link spelt out her name, she refused to engage in conversation any further. It's not as if Sidon was expecting sudden friendship and an instant bond. Sidon explained to Link what Zora's Domain looked like, how cool the water was, how plump the fish were. Link gave no indication she heard him, not responding in any shape or form. After a few minutes of total silence, Sidon gave up.

The closer they got to the domain, the more Zoras they encountered. Many of them were with their slaves. These were the cheaper Hylians, ones with minor defects like poor eyesight or general ugliness. Their forced servitude were displayed by the thick, shackle-like red bracelets on their arms. As Sidon passed, the Zoras dipped their head in respect. The slaves bowed and kept their eyes to the ground.

The crowds dispersed once they got close to the castle. There were more guards now, prompting Link to walk closer to Sidon. Up ahead, a young Hylian woman ran towards them, waving. "Your highness! I didn't expect to see you back so soon!"

Anya had been a slave in Sidon's court for the past fifteen years. She was everything a slave was supposed to be: beautiful, quiet, and attentive to their master's every need. She had short red hair, soft brown eyes, and a giant scar across the left side of her face. Sidon had bought her after seeing her get publicly whipped by her master for the simple crime of sleeping in late. Anya was grateful to Sidon for buying her. She has never once complained in all the years he had her.

She stopped in front of them, giving Sidon a quick bow, and turned her attention to Link. "Ohh! Is she the new slave, my lord?"

"Yes. This is Link. Anya, could you be a dear and take Link and show her around? Get her something to eat, new clothes-"

"A bath," Anya said, eyeing Link's disheveled look. "Yes, of course."

Anya took Link by the arm and gently lead her away. As they retreated towards the slave quarters, Link look at Sidon over her shoulder, giving him an uneasy look. She would be fine.

Sidon turned around, mentally readying himself for Muzu. He was the one who'd been pushing for a new court slave. Their last slave, Robi, had tripped and fell and injured his knee permanently. Robi was then banished to the lower levels, leaving them with a one less slave to look pretty in the throne room.

Robi was nice. Sidon missed him.

Muzu was, as always, waiting by Mipha's statue. When he was not consulting with the king, he was here, always mourning, never letting himself to move on. How can Sidon expect his people to move on when the elders were content to stew in their grief and anger for decades?

There was no avoiding this. With an internal sigh, Sidon walked up and politely said, "Good afternoon, Muzu. How are you?"

"Ah, Prince Sidon," Muzu said, turning away finally from Mipha's statue. "I didn't expect to see you back for another couple of hours. I assume you bought a new slave?"

"I did. Anya is taking her to get settled into her new role."

"That's nice, that's nice. Well now..." He held out his hand. When Sidon didn't move, Muzu questioned. "The slave's papers?"

The papers that told of the slave's heritage, their health, and other general information to ensure the slave you were getting was of the highest pedigree. Of course Sidon didn't have Link's papers. It was like asking if the fish caught from the river had papers.

Muzu groaned. "Oh, don't tell me, your highness. Did you bring home yet _another_ stray?"

"She's strong," Sidon tried to defend Link. "She's... quiet, she's beautiful-"

"Your highness. The whole point of a court slave is to show off your power. Your strength. You can't do that with an undisciplined, flea-covered slave."

"She'll be fine, Muzu. Better, even. That, I have no doubt in my mind."

"Oh really?" Muzu asked, glancing past Sidon. "Then why is Anya running up to you in distress?"

"What?"

He turned around. Anya stopped in front of him, huffing and puffing, and said, "Your highness! The... the... the girl! She..."

"Catch your breath, Anya. Calm. What happened?"

Anya pointed wildly behind her. "She threw herself over the railing!"

Dread pooled in Sidon's belly. Link didn't commit suicide, did she? Was death so preferable over slavery? Sidon pushed past Anya, running over to where she indicated Link jumped. He peered over the edge and looked down.

Link was in the water but she wasn't drowning. She was swimming as fast as she could, trying to escape again.

Sidon groaned, slapping one hand to his face. "Oh, for the love of-"

She didn't get far. As daring as this girl was, she was impulsive and didn't consider her choices before she made them. Deep below the surface of the water, four Zora guards suddenly emerged, surrounding Link easily, holding their spears towards her.

Five minutes later Link was back on the level ground. The guards had bound her arms behind her back and forced her to her to knees. She was shivering from the coldness of the water, and looked more like a drowned cat than a young Hylian woman.

"Unacceptable..." Muzu growled, stepping forward. He stared down at Link, his lip curling in disdain. "Bah! Clearly this girl has no concept what a great honor it is to serve as a slave in the royal court. You should be grateful, Hylian. Consider your punishment a lesson."

Muzu turned to the guards. "Take her and give her twenty lashings across the back."

"No!" Sidon cried out.

Everyone turned to look at him, their eyes narrowing in suspicion.

He was not suppose to show mercy. There were already multiple ugly rumors circulating about Sidon, ones that implied Sidon was happy of what happened to Mipha. It sickened him, and it only furthered painted him like a monster, as someone who wasn't fit to take the throne. If Sidon wasn't willing to take the proper actions against those who harmed his family, then he was as spineless as a jellyfish.

"I just _bought_ her," Sidon said quickly. "I'm not going to damage my new property after just getting her."

Muzu considered this. "Hmmm... good point, good point. But she still needs to be punished, my lord."

"Then I'll put her on latrine duty for the rest of the week. I'm sure after spending time cleaning, she'll be more than happy to come back. Anya, are you willing to oversee this? Ensure Link won't escape again?"

Anya stepped forward. "Yes, your highness. Please forgive me for my lax of-"

"It's fine. You're all dismissed."

The guard hauled Link up to her feet. As they pulled her away, Link stared back at Sidon, confused.

Oh goddess, Sidon thought warily. He was not going to be able to protect this girl if she kept running off like this. Something told him this was not going to be the last of her wild, unpredictable escapes.

"You're right," Muzu said, catching Sidon's attention as he turned back to stare up at Mipha's statue.

"I'm right? About what?"

"She is quite beautiful. She'll fit in fine with the others. But you better reel her in, your highness. If she runs again, her pretty face won't be able to save her."


	4. Chapter 4

Sidon slapped down the proposal on the table. "I refuse."

"Your highness..." Councilman Lionel started in a rather condescending tone.

"No. This is beyond cruel, Lionel. The Hylian slaves we do have are not capable of building such bridges without the proper tools- tools we don't even have. There are too many monsters in this area, we would lose slaves by the dozens."

"We need this bridge, your highness. And as you said, monsters roam the area and risk hurting our civilians. It's better we lose a few slaves than our own people."

"Then whose slaves do you suggest we use? Hmmm? Yours? Mine?"

"I suggest we use the disheveled."

Sidon's lips thinned. 'Disheveled' was a word used for slaves who were criminals. The majority of them were thieves or runaways, but some were murderers, killers of their own kind or of their master. These were unwanted slaves, _disposable_ slaves.

"It's perfect!" Lionel continued. "There's already at least fifty in the local brig. Now, even twenty of the strongest can be of great use-"

Sidon slammed his hand on the table, startling the councilman into silence. Sidon stood up. "Your proposal is cost ineffective, unreasonable, and too dangerous to consider. Find another solution that doesn't require a body count. You're dismissed."

Once Lionel left, Sidon sat down and put his face in his hands.

Things were getting worse.

The monarchy didn't have the same power it used to. Sidon didn't mind that the government was slowly changing into a free republic- that meant more power to the common civilian, allowing more votes and voices to be heard.

Unfortunately this also meant Sidon could not strike this proposal dead. He had no doubt Lionel will only change a few key elements, present it to the council, and they'll pass it regardless if Sidon hated it or not. What's the point of allowing the majority to vote if the ones voting were old, bitter Zoras who'd rather live in the past, trying their hardest to keep everything as it were hundreds of years ago?

King Dorephan, now in his four hundrenth year, had taken considerable steps back from politics, grooming Sidon to take his place. The king refused to get involved unless war was on the horizon. Not even he could officially end such an ugly proposal.

Sidon sighed and stood up. Now wasn't the time to lose faith in his people. The Champion festival was coming up and Sidon had to prepare for that. In the past years some of the Zoras had made a cruel tradition of dragging the disheveled out into public and flogging them in front of Mipha's statue. The king banned this outright, but Sidon still got reports of people doing it in private areas.

Speaking of which, Sidon realized he's not seen Link this whole week. He's gotten a few updates from Anya saying Link was behaving, but that was days ago. Surely Link was done with latrine duties by now.

Sidon might as well take a walk down to the ground sites to see. It'll be good to check on the progess with his own eyes.

He got to the latrines digging site within a few minutes. This site was new so the only thing Sidon could smell (thankfully) was freshly turned earth. He needn't worry about stepping onto something unsavory. He walked past several Hylian slaves in the middle of their dig, and he acknowledged them with a slight nod of his head while they bowed back. The Zora overseers carried ropes and lassos should a human suddenly decide to bolt, but it looked like everything was quiet and running smoothly.

Link wasn't here.

Sidon made sure. He walked across the site twice now, and besides a few young women passing out ladels of water, Sidon could not find the girl. Maybe she was already back at the castle?

Sidon pointed to one Zora. "You there, where is my slave?"

The Zora startled at the sudden attention. "The... pretty blonde one, my lord?"

"Yes."

"Oh... um, Sergeant Rucker took her about half an hour ago."

Rucker was one of the basic training drill sergeants. What the _hell_ did he want with a random court slave? "Where did he take her?" Sidon snapped, suddenly angry.

The Zora pointed towards the soldier training grounds.

Suddenly afraid, Sidon took off running. He didn't know why Rucker took her there, but he knew it was for no good. What was Sidon going to come upon once he got there? His mind flashed images of blood and gore, and he swore if they put a single hand on Link, there was going to be hell to pay.

He followed the sounds of excitement. There were at least fifty soldiers, all standing in a circle, hooting and hollering, their arms raised in the air as they watched whatever was going on in the middle. Sidon pushed his way through the bodies and gasped.

There was Link, crouched in a wrestling pose, a cheeky grin on her face as she slowly circled the Zora in front of her. Link's fingers were twitching in anticipation, her legs ready to spring. She was nearly nude; the only things she wore were a pair of blue shorts and a bra. She was covered in mud, her hair stiff with it.

The Zora she was facing was taller than her, his arms thick with muscle, but unlike Link who looked like she was having fun, the Zora looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. His headfin was stiff with tension, his limbs twitching in horrid anticipation.

Suddenly he struck forward, his hand coming down to swipe at Link's face. Sidon gave out a short cry, his hand raised up to stop this. If those claws connected, they could literally snap Link's jaw off, condemning her to suffer a slow, painful death.

Within the slow seconds of Sidon raising his arm, his yell barely leaving his lips, Link _jumped_. It was as if time slowed down as Sidon watched Link's movements unfold. Link flipped backwards, avoiding the swip entirely, and when she landed, she rushed forward at the Zora, her fists flying, striking him repeatedly before his arm even finished its swipe.

Then boom, time sped back up to its normal speed. Sidon blinked in amazement. _Did that really just happen?_

The Zora staggered back, stunned, his face contorted in pain. He stumbled and fell onto his bottom. Around him, the Zoras erupted into cheers.

Sidon's eyes bugged out when he saw _Anya_ suddenly come out into the middle of the makeshift ring, grabbed Link's arm and held it high, screaming as she did so. "We win!" She screamed. "Pay up!"

Several Zoras grumbled, pulling out their rupees and handing them over. Anya gleefully took their money, going down the line, pushing rupees of blue and red into her purse. She turned, coming face to face with Sidon, and the color drained from her face. "Your highness!" She squeaked out, dropping the purse onto the mud.

It was then suddenly everyone seemed to notice him at once. A silence fell upon the crowd as everyone stood there, gaping, unsure what to do.

Sidon growled. "Clear out!"

Everyone scattered.

Within seconds all that was left behind was muddy footprints and a few fallen scales. Anya immediately took to standard slave pose: her head down, hands clasped in front, feet together. Link followed suit, her pose more unrefined. She looked ridiculous under all that heavy caked mud.

Sidon sighed. "Anya, please explain."

Anya continued keeping her head down. "It sort of... got out of control. Link and I would come to the latrine site every morning and... well, the other Zoras would say things to us."

"What sort of things?"

Anya pursed her lips, blush creeping up on her cheeks. Link filled in the gaps.

 _Hylian bitches should get down on all fours,_ Link signed. She used very specific, crass signs to get the point across. _By the third day, I got tired of it. So I punched one Zora in the mouth._

Sidon choked. "You- what?"

Link held up her fist, shaking it. _He retaliated,_ she continued. _And I kept punching him. One thing led to another and other Zoras started betting on us._

"We made a lot of money..." Anya meekly said.

Sidon had no idea how to react to this. Link was lucky the soliders didn't drag her off and beat her senseless. By law, they had every right to. No slave was allowed to raise a hand against another Zora, not even in self-defense. Not only Link could've been severely punished, Anya as well. The continued carelessness in Link's actions was pushing Sidon's patience to the edge. He could not protect her if she kept doing shit like this.

"Money!" Sidon suddenly barked. "What do you need money for?"

Link bent down and scooped up the fallen rupee pouch. She held it protectively against her chest.

"I'm not going to take it away from you," Sidon said.

Link continued to hold it tightly.

"...Are we in trouble?" Anya asked.

"No, of course not, Anya. In all the years you've known me, have I ever lashed out at you?"

Sidon has always done his best to treat his slaves with as much respect and gentleness he could muster. He thought, of all people, Anya would know Sidon never mean her harm. He was saddened to see her shrug lightly, unsure of his true intentions.

"I've never seen you angry..." Anya confessed quietly.

Sidon could not blame her.

He turned back to Link. She was still holding the pouch to her chest, staring up at Sidon in defiance.

"I already said I'm not going to take it from you," Sidon said. "But the fighting will not continue. This is over, do you both understand?"

Anya nodded sharply. Link followed after a moment.

"Alright. Let's get back to castle before anyone else sees you..."


End file.
